Homeschool W1: Full Force into Another Year!

What We Studied

Arthur started 4th grade and Quentin started 1st grade this Monday. Of course, I over scheduled us and overestimated how much curriculum we would actually get through. But the first week is always a time to learn our limits and our rhythms. We’ll get to a better schedule soon.

Literature and Poetry

Arthur began his literature and language arts journey by reading Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. We should finish next week. So far, we are really enjoying this story. And it’s amazingly easy to read out loud. Beyond the actual literature, we are working on some basic grammar skills and starting our writing journey. He also started his Super Secret Notebook from Blossom & Root. And finally, we started reading the coop book club selection.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Richard O’Brien
Poetry for Young People: American Poetry
Reading Explorer: Intro
Wildoak by CC Harrington

Quentin started with a week of nursery rhymes and poetry. I didn’t want to dump him into a big chapter book, so we started easy. He also worked on some basic grammar.

Mother Goose Collection
Sing a Song of Seasons
Our Big Home by Linda Glaser

Math

Arthur began his math year with some review packets. We will start his next Singapore book next week or the week after. We’ll see how that goes. We also started our next logic book.

Orbiting with Logic

Quentin jumped back into Singapore 1B to tackle multiplication and then division before we move on. Based on his work this week, we might take a small review break after finishing 1B and before beginning 2A. I’m still deciding. We also did start the next logic book. And we even put in a math game, Picnic Party.

Lollipop Logic Book 3
Singapore Common Core 1B

Social Studies

Arthur jumped back into BYL 6 and History Quest: US History starting at the beginning of the Civil War. We’ll be sprinkling in various historical fiction readers to reinforce the time periods.

DK American History
We were There Too! Young People in US History by Phillip Hoose
Two Miserable Presidents by Steve Sheinkin
Bull Run by Paul Fleischman

I held off Quentin’s formal history lessons for an introduction to the world and map skills.

Follow that Map by Scot Ritchie
A Child’s Introduction to the World by Heather Alexander

Science

Arthur is embarking upon RSO Chemistry this year. But before we officially start the curriculum, we are covering some basic Chemistry and Science lessons. Once we start the actual book, we will be doing the experiment portions with a group of coop friends. We also started the next Story of Science

RSO Chemistry
How to Think Like a Scientist by Stephen Kramer
Notable Notebooks: Scientists and Their Writings by Jessica Fries-Gaither
Story of Science Vol. 2: Newton at the Center by Joy Hakim

Quentin started RSO Life with a basic lesson defining life and thinking about science in a larger sense. He will also be engaging in various nature science lessons and explorations throughout the year.

RSO Life
Many: The Diversity of Life on Earth by Nicola Davies
A Child’s Introduction to Natural History by Heather Alexander
DK Supersimple Biology

STEAM Coop

We started with a great nature based lesson at Schramm State Recreation Area. We now have four different levels that we teach each week. Quentin is now in the young class, now known as the Running Rhinos. They learned about trees. Arthur is in the oldest class. They learned about foraging and edible plants.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

We actually started a joint art and music study. Our first week was all about introducing art in a general sense and the orchestra for music. Moving on, we will be choosing one artist and one composter/musician per week to learn a bit about.

The Art Lesson by Tomie dePaola
Why is Art Full of Naked People by
A Child’s Introduction to Art by Heather Alexander
DK Music and How it Works
The Story of the Incredible Orchestra by Bruce Koscielniak
DK The Arts
A Child’s Introduction to the Orchestra by Robert Levine

Field Trip

We had multiple nature excursions and a playground session this week. Two more nature hikes was just what we needed to get our year start right! One was at a favorite, Fontenelle Forest, and another was at the related nature area, Neale Woods. Our playground time was at a favorite close-by park. We’ll be back soon I imagine.

High

Our high was definitely the first week of coop! Except for a few direction hiccups for a few families, we had a very successful and smooth meeting. All the kids seemed to enjoy themselves.

Low

I over scheduled our curriculum for the week. Definitely need to reevaluate my plan of next week…

Next Week

Continuing our plant study for coop
Finishing Mrs. Frisby
Moving forward with our study of the Civil War
Starting Singapore 5A?
Reading a lot Mo Willems books
Covering the basics of division
Admiring Frida Kahlo’s art
Listening to Ali Farka Toure’s music

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Dua Lipa "Dance the Night"

Sometimes I just really need a good pop song to groove to. And this really hits the spot.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #23

As I look outside my window: It rained again last night. And it’s still pretty wet this morning. Glad it happened on a home day and not a park playdate day.

Right now I am: Making an orange breakfast cake for brunch before clearing our the living room so J can clean the carpets. Busy morning!

On my bedside table: An Immense World by Ed Yong; A Duke in Disguise by Cat Sebastian

On my tv this week: We’ve kept up with our currently airing shows. We also finally started The Beatles documentary Get Back.

Listening to: I downloaded Nita Strauss’s new album and I am obsessed. So good!

On the menu for this week:

Monday - Chicken Shawarma Fries
Tuesday - Ginger Glazed Pork Chops
Wednesday - Leftovers
Thursday - Fancy BLT Grilled Cheese
Friday - Out
Saturday - Buffalo Chicken Nachos
Sunday - Crab Coconut Curry

On my to do list: Lots of things I imagine, but the first thing is fix our curriculum for next week. I over scheduled us for week one so everything is a bit out of sync. Per a big discussion at a coop related birthday party yesterday, I need to make a list of potential spaces to hold winter coop in…

Happening this week:

Monday - Trying something new: Breakfast and School at Gene Leahy Mall
Tuesday - Zoo Day
Wednesday - Home day
Thursday - Coop
Friday - Nature Walk at OPPD Arboretum, Nightfall at Platte River
Saturday - Book Club Pool Party
Sunday - The Breakfast Club

What I am creating:

My simple pleasures:

Looking around the house: We bought a carpet cleaner and J decided that yesterday was the perfect day to clean the dining room and playroom. I must admit that it does look better. Now we need to do the living room.

From the camera: The stack of books that I had put on our schedule for homeschool that we didn’t actually get to… That’s okay, this is why I schedule flex weeks periodically.

Happily Never After by Jeaniene Frost

Title: Happily Never After (Night Huntress #1.5)

Author: Jeaniene Frost

Publisher: Avon 2008

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Pages: 106

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series

Spice Meter: 5 (albeit one with a vampire)

Isabella Spaga is about to reluctantly walk down the aisle with Mr. Dangerously Wrong…but not if dashing vampire Chance has anything to say about it. As a favor to Bones, Chance has come to derail this wedding of beauty to the beast. Now if only he can keep his hands off the bride. From New York Times bestselling author Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress world, it’s the wedding of the season…that everyone wants to miss.

I finally tracked down some of the novellas for the Night Huntress series. This one involves a vampire that we briefly met in the first volume of the series. And yea! I was excited to see a little story involving him and his new lady love. We get a fun short story full of action and adventure and some truly terrible villains that were definitely deserving of their fates. Very cute addition to the stories. Now I need to track down some of the later stories…

Night Huntress:

#0.5 Reckoning
#1 Halfway to the Grave
#1.2 The Other Half of the Grave
#1.5 Happily Never After
#2 One Foot in the Grave
#3 At Grave’s End
#3.5 Devil to Pay
#4 Destined for an Early Grave
#4.5 One for the Money
#5 This Side of the Grave
#6 One Grave at a Time
#6.5 Home for the Holidays
#7 Up from the Grave
#7.5 Outtakes from the Grave
#7.6 A Grave Girls’ Getaway
#8 Both Feet in the Grave

Next up on the TBR pile:

Vampiric Vacation by Kiersten White

Title: Vampiric Vacation (The Sinister Summer #2)

Author: Kiersten White

Publisher: Delacorte Press 2022

Genre: Middle Grade Horror

Pages: 320

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series

After leaving Fathoms of Fun, the kids are on their way to the next odd summer destination their aunt has chosen for them. This time, they find themselves dropped off at the Sanguine Spa in the “little Transylvania Mountains.” There they meet the owners: Mina, her mysterious little sister, Lucy (who is extremely pale, can’t go in the sunlight, and has an affinity for hanging upside down from the ceiling), and their intimidating guardian, the Count.

When the Count sends all the children in the spa on a scavenger hunt, the Sinister-Winterbottoms use the excuse to snoop around and discover that this spa may be more than just eerie—it might also hold clues to what happened to their parents. When Wil starts to show vampiric symptoms, the twins resolve to investigate what’s really going on at the Sanguine Spa.

The second book in the Sinister Summer series continues the adventures of the Sinister-Winterbottoms and their aunt who never saw a discount vacation destination she didn’t love.

The library finally got the rest of this series for me to enjoy. I loved the first one and couldn’t wait to dive into the rest. The series reminds me a lot of A Series of Unfortunate Events with the mix of spooky and absurd happenings. We get another adventure, this time at a spa that may or may not be inhabited by vampires. We get more of the overall mystery and some clues along the way. And throughout everything, we are delighted to be following Theo and Alexander as they keep each other safe, along with occasionally making sure their sister Wil doesn’t walk off a cliff. I loved the play on the vampire myths and the story of Dracula in particular. There was a line early on about lawyers and suites that made me laugh out loud. I think the boys would really enjoy reading this series after me.

The Sinister Summer

#1 Wretched Waterpark
#2 Vampiric Vacation
#3 Camp Creepy
#4 Menacing Manor

star-rating-remains-the-most-important-part-of-a-review-cad0047.cad0047.png

Next up on the TBR pile:

Wrapped Up in You by Jill Shalvis

Title: Playing for Keeps (Heartbreaker Bay #8)

Author: Jill Shalvis

Publisher: Avon 2019

Genre: Romance

Pages: 348

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series

Spice Rating: 5

It’s love. Trust me.

After a lifetime on the move, Ivy Snow is an expert in all things temporary—schools, friends, and way too many Mr. Wrongs. Now that she owns a successful taco truck in San Francisco and an apartment to call home, Ivy’s reinvented life is on solid ground. And she’s guarded against anything that can rock it. Like the realities of a past she’s worked hard to cover up. And especially Kel O’Donnell. Too hot not to set off alarms, he screams temporary. If only his whispers weren’t so delightfully naughty and irresistible.

Kel, an Idaho sheriff and ranch owner, is on vacay, but Ivy’s a spicy reason to give his short-term plans a second thought. Best of all, she’s a tonic for his untrusting heart, burned once and still in repair. But when Ivy’s past intrudes on a perfect romance, Kel fears that everything she’s told him has been a perfect lie. Now, if only Ivy’s willing to share, Kel will fight for a true love story.

And we have come to the end of the Heartbreaker Bay series, or at least I assume it’s the end. I can’t actually find the two short stories that I haven’t read and I don’t think Shalvis has written any more with these characters. So we finally get a story featuring Ivy after being name dropped for the last few books. She gets a decent story involving Caleb’s cousin Kel. I did enjoy those two together, figuring out how to deal with their family dramas and learning to open up to each other. The overall action plot line wasn’t my favorite in the series, but it did add to the overall story. I did wish to see a bit more time between Ivy and Kel before they engaged in a relationship. I’m a sucker for tension and this book left me wanting more. But it was a fun breezy read for the week as I finish this series I started at Christmas last year.

Heartbreaker Bay

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro

Title: The Haunting of Alejandra

Author: V. Castro

Publisher: Del Rey 2023

Genre: Horror

Pages: 272

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Alejandra no longer knows who she is. To her husband, she is a wife, and to her children, a mother. To her own adoptive mother, she is a daughter. But they cannot see who Alejandra has become: a woman struggling with a darkness that threatens to consume her.

Nor can they see what Alejandra sees. In times of despair, a ghostly vision appears to her, the apparition of a crying woman in a ragged white gown.

When Alejandra visits a therapist, she begins exploring her family’s history, starting with the biological mother she never knew. As she goes deeper into the lives of the women in her family, she learns that heartbreak and tragedy are not the only things she has in common with her ancestors.

Because the crying woman was with them, too. She is La Llorona, the vengeful and murderous mother of Mexican legend. And she will not leave until Alejandra follows her mother, her grandmother, and all the women who came before her into the darkness.

But Alejandra has inherited more than just pain. She has inherited the strength and the courage of her foremothers—and she will have to summon everything they have given her to banish La Llorona forever.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this horror novel, but found that it very very scary. Not in a jump scare way at all, but in a “this is too close to real life” way. Alejandra has awakened to the fact that the life she is currently inhabiting is not one that she envisioned for herself. We get to see just how sad and out of place she is in her current situation. The parts of the book really focussed on her current life made me so sad. From there we get to learn has many of Alejandra’s ancestors felt the same way at different times in history. There is a cycle of generational trauma here that was very true to life. I was so very angry for all the women forced into situation that they did not choose. The demon figure masquerading as La Llorona just added to the horror of the situation, but it was very much secondary. This is a feminist rage book that I can get behind and recommend to anyone that can handle a bit of horror with their rage.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Unmasked by the Marquess by Cat Sebastian

Title: Unmasked by the Marquess (Regency Imposters #1)

Author: Cat Sebastian

Publisher: Avon 2018

Genre: Romance

Pages: 304

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Romanceopoly - Courtship Row; Finishing the Series

Spice Rating: 5

The one you love…

Robert Selby is determined to see his sister make an advantageous match. But he has two problems: the Selbys have no connections or money and Robert is really a housemaid named Charity Church. She’s enjoyed every minute of her masquerade over the past six years, but she knows her pretense is nearing an end. Charity needs to see her beloved friend married well and then Robert Selby will disappear…forever.

May not be who you think…

Alistair, Marquess of Pembroke, has spent years repairing the estate ruined by his wastrel father, and nothing is more important than protecting his fortune and name. He shouldn’t be so beguiled by the charming young man who shows up on his doorstep asking for favors. And he certainly shouldn’t be thinking of all the disreputable things he’d like to do to the impertinent scamp.

But is who you need…

When Charity’s true nature is revealed, Alistair knows he can’t marry a scandalous woman in breeches, and Charity isn’t about to lace herself into a corset and play a respectable miss. Can these stubborn souls learn to sacrifice what they’ve always wanted for a love that is more than they could have imagined?

I’m a bit disappointed by this one. I had heard great things and wanted to explore a queer romance. This one just didn’t quite land for me and I’m not exactly certain why. Robin/Charity/Robert was a complicated character and I didn’t quite buy their entire motivation. I totally get their identification and nonbinary. I don’t really get their motivation when it came to the Duke and such. Or maybe it was because I didn’t buy the Duke and Robin together. They still seemed mismatched by the end of the book. I wanted a bit more conversation and connection… But I will be reading on in the series as many have said that the second one is better.

Regency Imposters

#1 Unmasked by the Marquess
#2 A Duke in Disguise
#3 A Delicate Deception

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles

Title: The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen (Doomsday Books #1)

Author: KJ Charles

Publisher: Sourcebooks 2023

Genre: Romance

Pages: 352

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Romanceopoly - Rainbow Row; Finishing the Series

Spice Rating: 5

Abandoned by his father, Gareth Inglis grew up lonely, prickly, and well-used to disappointment. Still, he longs for a connection. When he meets a charming stranger, he falls head over heels—until everything goes wrong and he's left alone again. Then Gareth's father dies, turning the shabby London clerk into Sir Gareth, with a grand house on the remote Romney Marsh and a family he doesn't know.

The Marsh is another world, a strange, empty place notorious for its ruthless gangs of smugglers. And one of them is dangerously familiar...

Joss Doomsday has run the Doomsday smuggling clan since he was a boy. When the new baronet—his old lover—agrees to testify against Joss's sister, Joss acts fast to stop him. Their reunion is anything but happy, yet after the dust settles, neither can stay away. Soon, all Joss and Gareth want is the chance to be together. But the bleak, bare Marsh holds deadly secrets. And when Gareth finds himself threatened from every side, the gentleman and the smuggler must trust one another not just with their hearts, but with their lives.

A random recommendation from a library list and it was a good one. We get a great romance between two seemingly opposite character and a big mystery. Sometimes I really enjoy a romance book that has a mystery or an action plot attached to it. We get a little something to propel the storyline forward while exploring a romance. This one was a good mix of the two. We get to meet Gareth and Joss and watch them attempt to find common ground out on the marsh. The setting really was another character in this book. I could definitely picture the surrounding area and the plants and insects that inhabit it. it made for a fun aspect to this historical romance.

The Doomsday Books

#1 The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen
#2 A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #15

Reading: I picked up another old BOTM selection from my Unread Shelf and started reading The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker. I’m only a few chapters in and am still a bit unsure about this book. We’ll see how this goes.

Watching: We finally started Get Back, The Beatles documentary. It’s surprisingly interesting for not being a linear documentary.

Listening: Slowly slowly working my way through Hello from the Magic Tavern. I’m only like 5 years behind, but eventually I’ll get caught up (if they stop recording the show soon).

Making: Coop starts on Thursday and I’m busy prepping the supply bag. Lots of random supplies to collect and put into the correct bins and bags.

Feeling: The weather has been so humid for the past few days and I’m just feeling so muggy. It’s terrible and I hate it.

Planning: I know I’ll be teaching W7-8, nocturnal animals for the preschoolers, and I might just have to teach W5-6, photography for the preschoolers. All of this before I teach W13-18, board games for the oldest kids. I’m really trying to only teach 8 weeks this semester, but it’s not looking good. So now I need to really buckle down nd start planning.

Loving: We officially started our next school year yesterday and I’m so excited that we’re back to our school routine. Having a basic schedule for the week really helps calm my anxiety.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Linkin Park "Massive"

I really miss Chester’s voice.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #22

As I look outside my window: It’s overcast and a bit drizzly. Definitely a change from the days of sun and 90 degrees last week.

Right now I am: Sitting outside enjoying the cooler weather and drinking my coffee. I imagine that I will have to go in soon if the drizzle really turns to rain, but it’s nice right now.

Thinking and pondering: What book should I read next? Maybe one of the two below or something completely different.

On my bedside table: Wrapped Up in You by Jill Shalvis; Vampiric Vacation by Kiersten White

On my tv this week: J and I finished S3 of The Witcher while continuing to watch What We Do in the Shadows S5, The Righteous Gemstones S3, and Foundation S2. We also watched The Blackening, Loved this flip on the horror genre.

Listening to: I just discovered Nita Strauss’s new album and it is amazing. I’ve been listening to it nonstop.

On the menu for this week:

Monday - Chili with Cornbread
Tuesday - Cajun Stuffed Chicken
Wednesday - Leftovers
Thursday - BBQ Cheddar Stuffed Meatloaf
Friday - Fancy BLT Grilled Cheese
Saturday - Chicken Shawarma Fries
Sunday - Chicken Ranch Tacos

On my to do list: Nothing much. We’re starting school tomorrow, so I’ve tried to scale back my to-do list to accommodate.

Happening this week:

Monday - First Day of School
Tuesday - Fontenelle Forest Visit
Wednesday - Zorinksky Playground Time
Thursday - Coop; ET at the Quasar Drive-In
Friday - Nature Explorers at Neale Woods
Saturday - Friend’s Birthday Party
Sunday - Home Day

What I am creating: I want to work on my June and July Memory Planner pages. Hopefully I can find some time.

My simple pleasures: A few quiet minutes…

Looking around the house: We picked up the living room and breakfast area in preparations for school. The school racks have been filled and supplies refilled.

From the camera: Arthur enjoying his first go-kart ride.

Playing for Keeps by Jill Shalvis

Title: Playing for Keeps (Heartbreaker Bay #7)

Author: Jill Shalvis

Publisher: Avon 2019

Genre: Romance

Pages: 272

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Finishing the Series

If you’re planning on falling in love…

When it comes to the confident, charismatic Caleb Parker, Sadie Lane feels the spark—the kind that comes from rubbing each other the wrong way. She’s yoga pants, he’s a suit. She’s a tattoo artist, he’s a straight-laced mogul. But after they accidentally co-rescue an abandoned dog from a storm, Sadie sees a vulnerable side to the seemingly invincible hottie.

you’d better be sure…

Caleb doesn’t do emotions. Growing up the underdog, he’s learned the hard way to build up an impenetrable wall. Perfect for business. Disastrous for relationships. He’s never worried about it before—not until he finally gets behind Sadie’s armor and begins to fall.

… someone is there to catch you.

Both guarded and vulnerable, Sadie and Caleb are complete opposites. Or are they? Shocked at their undeniable connection, can they ever admit to wanting more? That all depends on what they’re each willing to risk.

Another volume in this good contemporary romance series. I still really enjoy how every book has some type of more serious themes. Sometimes I want a bit of substance along with my fluffy romance. In this one, I really liked Sadie as a character. She felt very real with all her hang-ups. I enjoyed her prickly manor especially as she sparred with Caleb. Speaking of, Caleb wasn’t my favorite main character, but he was a decent counterpart to Sadie. Somehow I only have one more completed book in this series? I cannot even imagine.

Heartbreaker Bay

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

Title: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

Author: Sandu Mandanna

Publisher: Berkley 2022

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 318

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - Books on the Cover; Romanceopoly - Journey’s End

As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don’t mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she’s used to being alone and she follows the rules...with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos "pretending" to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously.

But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tangled up in the lives and secrets of not only her three charges, but also an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, and…Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he’s concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat.

As Mika begins to find her place at Nowhere House, the thought of belonging somewhere begins to feel like a real possibility. But magic isn't the only danger in the world, and when peril comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect a found family she didn’t know she was looking for....

Our book club pick for August and it was a delightfully warm hug. We enter into a world full of secret witches and oddball characters all looking for a home. Thankfully they find their home, albeit after a few trials and some periods of self-doubt. I fell for every single one of the characters but I think Rosetta was my favorite. All the characters created their own space and place within the family. We get to see how they all fit together into a beautiful tapestry. I’m looking forward to reading the next book from Mandanna.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

We are just a few days away from the start of school. Better get my supplies all in line…
My current read is extremely depressing. I’ll need a pick-me-up read after this one.
The fridge needs a good cleaning out. And the freezer also. Better get on that.
This week my head has been hurting a lot. Really need to get that doctor appointment made.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Hey, Hun by Emily Lynn Paulson

Title: Hey, Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing

Author: Emily Lynn Paulson

Publisher: Row House Publishing 2023

Genre: Nonfiction - Business

Pages: 384

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Summer TBR

The eye-opening, funny, and dangerous personal story of author Emily Lynn Paulson rising to the top of the pyramid in the multilevel marketing (MLM) world, only to recognize that its culture and business practices went beyond a trendy marketing scheme and into the heart of white supremacy in America.

A significant polemic on how MLMs operate, HEY, HUN expertly lays out their role in the cultural epidemic of isolation and the cult-like ideologies that course through their trainings, marketing, and one-on-one interactions.

Equally entertaining and smart, Paulson’s first-person accounts, acerbic wit, and biting commentary will leave you with a new perspective on those “Hey Hun” messages flooding your inbox.

An interesting first-hand account of just how insidious MLMs. I was really interested in Paulson’s personal narrative. We really get to see how the companies work on people to deconstruct their entire beings and remake them in the company’s images. I didn’t mind how Paulson used aggregate characters and amalgamations to illustrate the tactics. I was even interested in the psychology behind the BITE model. But then, the chapters started to run together and information started repeating. I get the emphasis on various tactics, but it really felt too repetitive. I just got tired of reading the book after awhile.

Next up on the TBR pile:

August 2023 Life Goals

Let’s check in on July’s goals and my progress.

Read 18 Books ✓
Indiana/Ohio Road Trip ✓
Finish Prepping for 2023-2024 School Year ✓

August Goals:

Read 18 Books
Kick-Off Our Homeschool Year and Coop
Knock Out 5 More Items from Our Summer Bucket List
Limit My Personal Library Check-outs

Next up on the TBR pile: